[EBH] = Edwin F. Taylor, and John Archibald Wheeler. Exploring Black Holes: Introduction to General Relativity. Addison Wesley Longman, 2000.
[Thorne] = Thorne, Kip. Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy. W. W. Norton, 1994.
| Week # | Topics | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the Class |
Thorne. “A Voyage Among the Holes.” (Prologue) |
| 2 | The Universe: Questions you were afraid to ask |
EBH. “Speeding.” (Chap. 1) (Special relativity), “Curving.” (Chap. 2) Pp. 2-24. Thorne. “The Relativity of Space and Time.” (Chap. 1) Handout: |
| 3 | Recitation |
EBH. “Curving.” (Chap. 2) Pp. 2-25 to the end. Project A: The Global Positioning System Thorne. “The Warping of Space and Time.” (Chap. 2) |
| 4 | Global Positioning System |
EBH. “Plunging.” Thorne. “Black Holes Discovered and Rejected.” (Chap. 3) Thorne. “The Mystery of the White Dwarfs.” (Chap. 4) Handouts (not available online): |
| 5 | Einstein’s Field Equations |
EBH. “Orbiting.” (Chap. 4) Thorne. “Implosion is Compulsory.” (Chap. 5) |
| 6 | Tracing Einstein’s Development of the Special Relativity Theory |
EBH. “Seeing.” (Chap. 5) Thorne. “Implosion to What?” (Chap. 6) |
| 7 | Supermassive Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy – Sagittarius A* |
EBH. “Spinning Black Hole.” Thorne. “The Golden Age.” (Chap. 7) |
| 8 | X-Ray Binaries and the Search for Black Holes |
Cosmology (New Project, replaces EBH Project G: Friedmann Universe) Thorne. “Serendipity.” (Chap. 9) |
| 9 |
Review prepare for Mid-term Exam. |
|
| 10 | The Universe and Three Examples |
Thorne. “The Search.” (Chap. 8) |
| 11 | Recitation |
Thorne. “Ripples of Curvature.” (Chap. 10) |
| 12 | LIGO: Detecting Gravitational Waves |
Thorne. “What is Reality?” (Chap. 11) |
| 13 | Cosmic Structure Formation; from Inflation to Galaxies |
Thorne. “Black Holes Evaporate.” (Chap. 12) |
| 14 |
Project Reports in Seminar; Project Reports in Recitation Section |
Related Resource
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
WMAP is a NASA Explorer Mission that is currently measuring the temperature of the cosmic background radiation over the full sky with unprecedented accuracy. This map of the remnant heat of the Big Bang will provide answers to fundamental questions about the origin and fate of our universe. The next steps in cosmology will depend heavily on this and future data from this satellite.
